I......C.....T........dumdumdadadumdum. Stop. Collaborate & Listen.

This is the post about ICT & The VELS, you have been warned.

Looking at the 3 main domains that the VELS attribute to ICT, i am a bit baffled. they seem a little wrong.
1. ICT for visual thinking, i get that, using the tools of ICT to create a visual representation of what is buzzing about in their minds.
2. ICT for creating, i get that too, using ICT to create a visual representation to problems and ideas that are in their heads or posed to them.
3. And finally ICT for communicating, thats straight forward as well, using ICT to create a visual representation to communicate the ideas in their blossoming craniums.

i feel that they are a little samey. i'm sure VELS would distinguish them by saying one is developing an understanding, one is capturing an understanding, and the last one is communicate an understanding. the problem i have is that it would all happen at once. I totally agree that ICT allows students to engage with material in such a way that is learner oriented and allows them the opportunities to make mistakes, i've seen it in my classes. VELS just seems a little wishywashy on the matter.

I currently have my year 10 students creating a presentation using a program of their choice (many are using Prezi, some stubborn oldies are using PowerPoint) to produce a short showcase of a particular country, focusing on a specific poverty issue that concerns that particular country. moving about the classroom, watching the students experiment with the programs trying to CREATE a VISUAL MESSAGE that is COMMUNICABLE is fascinating. What i may see as a jumble of ideas with no apparent rhyme or reason, is perfectly ordered and coherent to my student. Its just the way the mind works. Its dynamic and fluid. Organized chaos. Then they run through their presentation for me, and things are a little clearer, but sometimes a little clunky, but to them the message is there, but isn't that often the nature of communication? especially when its not the persons most comfortable form (i.e verbal conversational?) but in something that can be quiet foreign (visual technological?).

VELS is right that "ICT provides a rich and flexible learner-centred environment in which students can experiment and take risks when developing new understanding", but i think they way it is structuring itself is doing justice to the dynamic medium. The 3 domains feel as though they are more focused on:
1. ICT for visual knowledge organization
2. ICT for data processing and development of program nous
3. ICT for delivering a speech
The domains don't do justice to the medium and or the students that use it. it should be based around risk taking, pushing the boundaries, experimenting and failing. but i don't know, just after reading the VELS, what was there didn't seem right, but my thoughts have always be more than a little clunky.

J

To interact or not interact.........

the second part of the ICT PD was focusing on interactive whiteboards, it was an intermediate class about some of the more technical parts of the software. I have not ever seen a interactive whiteboard, let alone used one. So i was feeling as though the intermediate class would not be a great start. However i found that i was not alone, most of the teachers, although had already participated in a whiteboard seminar, still didn't have a clue how to use it effectively. The software didn't seem overly complex, it appeared really user friendly, so it wasn't that hard to have a little experiment and learn the ins and outs. The problem i had with the seminar is that they explained and explained and explained about all these neat little tools, but didn't provide any concrete examples of what the look like when actually running a interactive program.

Furthermore the teachers didn't seem very enthusiastic about the program, they seemed unresponsive and unwilling to even try and incorporate the ICT tool in their daily class teaching. 60% of the classrooms have the facilities to utilize the IWB, but i am yet to see one teacher actually use it. there is some resistance to move outside of their comfort zone and present their material in a different way. This appears to be the major issue i have noticed with ICT in classrooms, the reluctance of teachers to change their habits. they are comfortable and can reuse a powerpoint or overhead for their classes, rather than attempt to develop their skills set to incorporate ICT.

I am yet to see an successful and engaging IWB class. Even the seminar was dull and not engaging. Also teachers often make the worst students. A large portion of the teachers in the seminar, sat checking their email, talking to the people next to them (or across the room) or just reading the paper. Shame, teacher, shame.

And now for something a little lighter :D

flip it and reverse it

I had the (mis)fortune to be roped into an ICT PD workshop after placement last week, which would entail 2 one hour ICT sessions on specific ICT tools. I was prepared to be bored. Thankfully, i was wrong.

I was introduced to a program i had never encountered before, a program that allows the user to change the way they usually deliver presentations (ie microsoft PowerPoint). The program was Prezi, a dynamic and fluid internet program that allows for more variety and in some cases style. The interface is a little strange to begin with, but is actually quite easy to use, just takes a little getting used to.
Prezi allows you to type, flip, rotate, insert vids and pics, group information, tricky little zoom maneuvers and most important create the pathways for your presentation. the pathways allow you, with a click, move from section to section in a fluid pan move, often over other information. done correctly, its a nice little stylistic tool, but also a way viewer to see the grander scheme of things. done incorrectly and you just get a little motion sickness.
It's one of those programs you get good at by using, and playing around with it. there is a bit of a novelty factor, but that's only if you get carried away with the zooms and pans.
i created 2 prezis for my class, the first was a good example of what not to do, confusing pathways with over the top zooms, flips and pans. i got carried away. the second was much better, tighter and gave the students a better indication prezi.
i would attach them but i can't do it. you can go to www.prezi.com and search for them, they are all in the public domain.
As students and teachers we can sign up for free and get access to more tools.
i now have my students using it in preparation for a research presentation. i'm not forcing them to use it, it was one of a few options. surprisingly all but one student have signed up and started using prezi. they all seem to really enjoy it. i'm just hoping its for more than just the novelty factor.